A Difficult Day

It was Saturday morning, August 29th, and the weather man promised one of the best weekends of the summer. There would be a breeze from the north and temperatures in the low nineties with a low humidity. I looked forward to quiet day working on the stairway, but first I needed to replace a part on my tractor. I had the part so it didn't take long to fix the problem. While working on that part I noticed the mower deck needed some adjustments and service. I did the work required and had everything ready for use.

I got my tools out and went to work on the stairs. A short while later Randy came to get the tractor to mow his lawn, but in only a few minutes he returned and told me there was a problem with the power steering. I went to check and found that one of the oil hoses had ruptured and squirted oil in very hard places to clean up. I have replace most of the hoses on the tractor. Each one presents its own problem. I have to get the old hose off, which for some is a job and a half, and take it to a place where I can get a new one made. If I order an original part it will take several days and cost about four times as much and be of poorer quality. I have to install the new hose, sometimes in very difficult and hard to work in areas of the tractor and clean up the tractor. The hose that needs replacing is going to be one of the more difficult ones to replace, but doing the work myself will save several hundred dollars, like about $500.

I left the tractor on the grass by the garage door and went back to work on the stairs. I noticed one of my neighbors four horses at my back fence. As I looked more closely I noticed he was eating the bark off from my trees along the fence. Five years ago they didn't amount to much as saplings so I showed them some tender loving care and nurtured them into some nice trees, but now over half the bark had been peeled off. I got some wire and some old two by fours and wired them to the fence side of the tree to keep them from chewing any more bake off. This will severely set the trees back, but maybe they will recover. At this point I was really wishing I had stayed in Arizona where I could hike the mountains, but the Lord wanted me to come to Texas to make the connection to China.

I finally got back to the stairs and decided I would enjoy working on them regardless of all the problems of the day. I enjoy so much working with my hands, feeling the wood and the tools and seeing each piece add to the whole. What a joy to make precise cuts so that pieces fit cleanly even if drying and shrinkage will produce cracks later. I bet it gives God much joy as he works in each of our lives, making us more and more like his Son Jesus Christ.

At the end of Saturday the stairs looked as follows.

Another view.

My plan is to finish before I leave for China, but so many other things seem to get in the way. We must be very careful we don't let things get in the way of our growth in Christ and the work of leading others to God.